Hong Kong Housing Prices Highest Worldwide for 11 Consecutive Years... 20 Times Household Income

(Source: Bloomberg News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Hong Kong has been ranked as the city with the most expensive housing prices in the world for 11 consecutive years.

Bloomberg reported on the 23rd (local time) that Hong Kong's housing prices are the highest in the world when measured by housing affordability relative to income.

According to data from the think tank Urban Reform Institute's Public Policy Frontier Center, which surveyed housing affordability in 92 major cities worldwide, last year Hong Kong's housing prices were 20.7 times the average income.

This survey measured affordability by dividing the average housing price by the median annual household income. Although Hong Kong's ratio slightly decreased from 20.8 times the previous year to 20.7 times last year, the ranking remained unchanged due to the large gap with the 2nd and 3rd ranked cities.

Canada's Vancouver ranked 2nd with a ratio of 13 times, creating a significant gap with Hong Kong, followed by Sydney, Australia (11.8 times), Auckland, New Zealand (10 times), Toronto, Canada (9.9 times), Melbourne, Australia (9.7 times), San Jose, USA (9.6 times), San Francisco (9.6 times), Honolulu, Hawaii (9.1 times), and London, UK (8.6 times).

The report explained that although housing prices slightly declined due to an increase in population leaving Hong Kong following the implementation of the National Security Law in June last year, the decrease was not sufficient to significantly improve housing affordability.

The report warned, "Housing prices have risen in many surveyed cities as new buyers move into suburban areas," adding, "The worsening housing market represents a real threat to middle-class households."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.